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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864638">Candy Red</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EctoGeneticist/pseuds/EctoGeneticist'>EctoGeneticist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Homestuck</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dave is good for comfort, Epilogues don't exist in this, Karkat is sad, M/M, Post-Sburb/Sgrub, The epilogues are trash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:53:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23864638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EctoGeneticist/pseuds/EctoGeneticist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Karkat Vantas, and the fact that you're a mutant haunts you.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Candy Red</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I haven't written an actual fanfic in over 3 years, but my friend wanted to see what I could write. So... let's see how this goes.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Candy red was a colour most of us would deem beautiful. It was the colour of roses, fresh strawberries, and leaves you can find on the ground in the midst of fall. However, if you were a troll and this was your blood colour... that made you a mutant.</p>
<p>A mutant was something definitely not to be proud of. Mutants were essentially just defects born to be tossed aside and outcast. They were deemed freakshows. No one wanted to be one. And those who were... well... they were rejected throughout history because of something out of their control. That point of history may seem to be over, but the pain from beforehand wasn’t.</p>
<p>Your name was Karkat Vantas, and poor little you knew the pain all too well.</p>
<p>After you and your friends beat the game, you were all dubbed heroes. Heroes were supposed to be beloved, by both themselves and many. You had no idea if people actually did love you, you just weren’t able to love yourself. You spent a lot of your life keeping you blood colour a secret. When you were younger you acted all high and mighty for keeping it a secret, but in reality you were beyond ashamed.</p>
<p>Blood colour was something that was always important in troll culture. It determined your status, your wealth, hell even your lifespan! But... candy red blood wasn’t on the hemospectrum.</p>
<p>Rust, bronze, gold, lime (wiped out), olive, jade, teal, blue, indigo, purple, violet, fuchsia... no candy red. You were a fucking mutant. You hated it, keeping the secret for so long... you were still ashamed. Even if you didn’t really have much of a reason to be anymore. You met a whole other race with candy red blood! But you weren’t them... you weren’t a human. You were only one thing; a goddamn mutant.</p>
<p>Currently you were doing the only thing you enjoyed doing when you were in one of your moods about this, laying on the couch watching shitty romcoms. Sometimes you wondered what it would be like to magically fall in love like everyone in the movies seemed to do. But then again... who would love a freakish mutant?</p>
<p>Suddenly you heard your phone’s vibration going off, buzzing against the coffee table it was on. It was buzzing almost nonstop. You figured this was going on for a few minutes as you were too spaced out to notice. God, what the hell did this person want? And why the fuck did they have to be so annoying now?</p>
<p>You groan and grab your phone off the table, checking the notifications. There were a few things from before you never bothered clearing, but of course you were being downright spammed by your uh... friend (?? Let’s just leave it at that) Dave.</p>
<p>Ah, Dave... so lovable (Did you really just fucking think that?) but at the same time so stupidly annoying (In an... um... good way?). Your feelings for him were pretty... confusing, to say the least. It was nearly impossible to fit him into a quadrant, nothing seemed to fit. Nothing ever fucking does with poor little you.</p>
<p>You scroll through all of the messages. A lot of them were saying stuff asking what you were up to and if you wanted to hang out. You wanted to smash the phone against the wall in frustration. He didn’t exactly know how you felt about all of this, so it wasn’t his fault for pestering you (Okay it was but you just want to give him the benefit of the doubt).</p>
<p>You put your phone back down, it continues to buzz, and you get back what you do best; laying in front of the TV wrapped in a blanket. You honestly weren’t even paying any attention, a few times you started getting invested in the story, but then you just stopped giving a shit. Just laying there was enough to try and keep your mind from going to the really shitty thoughts you had back there.</p>
<p>The phone eventually stopped buzzing, so you grabbed your phone to see if Dave finally gave up. The latest notification said “TG: well if you aren’t gonna say anything i’m heading over there to make sure you’re okay”.</p>
<p>Oh god fucking damn it.</p>
<p>You weren’t in the mood for company, let alone even presentable. He’d probably walk in, see you, and fuck right off. Why would he, let alone anyone, want to deal with your sad depressive bullshit? </p>
<p>After what felt like an eternity of laying there spaced out, you hear a knock at your door.</p>
<p>“Karkles?? Kk?? You there?” You hear Dave shouting as he knocks at the door. You give a sigh, apparently loud enough for him to hear because the next thing you know the door is open. You thought you locked it, apparently not, could have been the perfect opportunity for burglars to come in and steal your shit.</p>
<p>“Dude what the hell? You look like shit” he says as he walks up to the couch.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah I know” you mutter as he pulls you up into a sitting position... or at least somewhat, still looks extremely uncomfortable though.</p>
<p>“Do you want to talk about it? I’m here for you if you need it.” he says, pulling you up into a position where you’re looking straight at him (and one that looks more comfortable to actually be in) while pushing up his sunglasses. You know that when he moves his sunglasses away from his eyes, he means serious shit.<br/>“I... uh...” you try and get it out but you can’t. You’re staring into his eyes... those bright, candy red eyes. The ones he constantly hides behind his shades.</p>
<p>Candy red... fuck.</p>
<p>You snap your head away from him, inhaling sharply as you try not to get worked up again. You already hate Dave seeing you in this state, you didn’t need him to see worse. What’s worse is that you knew he wasn’t very fond of his eye colour, he hid them for a reason. Getting upset over something that affected only him just made you feel like a jackass.</p>
<p>You can feel the tears welling up in your eyes. Oh god oh fuck you don’t need this to happen. Not in front of him... not in front of anyone.</p>
<p>“K- Karkat...” He mutters quietly as he reaches up to wipe your tears away, “It’s okay to tell me what’s wrong.”</p>
<p>You finally can’t hold it back anymore and break. You pull yourself into him and start crying into his chest. You would never do this around anyone else, but Dave... you can trust him. Even if you’d very much rather not have him see you like this.</p>
<p>You feel him pull you into a hug as he rubs your back slightly to help you calm down faster. He whispers that it’s okay... that everything is gonna be okay. You knew he was just spewing that shit to calm you down. Hell, he didn’t even know what was going on! You knew he just wanted to comfort you though... so it was okay. </p>
<p>You both stay like this for a good period of time. How long exactly? Hell you didn’t know... nor care. You were just happy you didn’t break down in front of someone else, or else you’d probably have to kill them so they didn’t say shit to anyone.</p>
<p>Eventually you pull back from his embrace, wiping your eyes as he sits there patiently waiting to see if you were okay. He reaches forward and wipes your eyes a bit for you, as he was doing before. He gives you a reassuring smile, signifying that he was there for you.</p>
<p>“Want to talk now...?” He asks, putting his hand on your shoulder... another sign of reassurance. You nod and take a minute to catch your breath.</p>
<p>“I... it’s just. I’ve been thinking a lot about how... I’m... you know... a m-“ You hold back a choked sob, “a mutant... a freak...” you get out as you feel the waterworks coming back again.</p>
<p>“Listen Kk,” He says, reaching again to wipe away your tears that won’t stop. You wonder how annoying that is for him to keep doing. “I know you’ve explained the mutated blood thing to me, but it’s okay. I don’t think you’re a freak because of it... it makes you, well... you. You’re the one and only Karkat Vantas there is. (Okay both of you knew that was complete bullshit, but you knew what his point was.) You’re unique, and I’d rather not have you any other way.”</p>
<p>You look up into his eyes... into those fucking candy red eyes. However looking into them you don’t see the fear you normally associate with that colour. You see someone who (apparently) cares for you in them.</p>
<p>“But... on Alternia I would have been hunted for sport if more people knew. It’s something I’m just... scared of.” Aaaand great! Now poor Karkat was admitting he was scared!</p>
<p>“For one, this isn’t Alternia. No one is out to get you because of something uncontrollable. For two, I didn’t think I’d see the day where you would admit to being scared... but it’s okay, we’re all afraid of things sometimes. You just have to combat the fear... you’re strong Karkat. You can do it.”</p>
<p>“B-but it’s something I had to hide in shame for sweeps... and even though I shouldn’t be scared or ashamed anymore I still just... am! I’m embarrassed to be a mutated freak, I’m scared all the tables are gonna turn back against me at some point! I just... I just... wish I could have been normal...” </p>
<p>You start crying yet again. And he pulls you into his lap as you try to calm down. His embrace is warm... loving...</p>
<p>“I literally just told you I wouldn’t have you any other way. I understand why you would still be scared and ashamed... but I just want you to know that here you don’t have to be. Here no one cares what your blood colour is. Hell, most of the people on this planet have the same blood colour as you! I do, the rest of us humans do. A lot of the other creatures inhabiting this planet do. Hell, some of the other trolls fit in less than you do now when we’re talking about blood colour.” He goes off, his words calming you down in the process.</p>
<p>“My main point is... you shouldn’t have to feel ashamed anymore. On Alternia you may have gotten shit for something you couldn’t control. On earth I would have gotten shit because of my eyes, you don’t see humans with red eyes anywhere, but that’s something I just… can’t control! Also with my sexuality, for trolls it’s normal for you all to be bisexual. It’s not for humans though, for god knows how long the only acceptable way to be was heterosexual… of course over time it started to change though. When I was growing up I saw everywhere that a boy and a girl were to fall in love. So when I started questioning that kind of stuff it was… scary because I thought I was more abnormal than I already was. I accept it fully now it was, just back then it was hard ya know…” he trailed off.</p>
<p>“Okay now I’m getting really off topic but as I said, this isn’t Alternia. You don’t have a reason to be afraid of yourself anymore. It might take some time for you to accept that, but I’m here for you every step of the way.” Dave finishes as he pulls you in and kisses you on your temple.</p>
<p>The impact of that kiss immediately calms you down fully.. You didn’t expect well... THAT. You turn your head to look up into his eyes, them shining down right back at you. A goofy grin on his face. God, he tries to act so cool but he’s actually just a fucking goofy sap.</p>
<p>You take the opportunity to lean in and kiss him directly on the lips. He jolted back a bit at first, probably not expecting it by his movements. Well... he surprised you with a kiss! This is just you getting back at him!</p>
<p>After a few seconds he leans into the kiss... man he was a good kisser. You both stay like this for a good amount of time before you break apart. You stare into each others’ eyes, both a mess of that god forsaken candy red from blushing so hard.</p>
<p>“Well... one minute you’re crying and the next you’re all over me, damn~“ He jokes as you place a finger in front of him, signaling him to shut up.</p>
<p>“Listen Strider, you’re right about the whole I shouldn’t be scared and ashamed thing... I still am gonna be for quite some time I know. And I... fucking hate these depressive episodes those thoughts send me into but... if you really are there for me I guess they can be better.” You say blushing, reaching behind your head and scratching at the back of it.</p>
<p>“Hell yeah I’ll be there for you Kitkat! You’re one of my bestest friends! Maybeevenmore-” He said rushing the last part. He flipped his sunglasses back over his eyes, trying to pull off a cool guy smile but instead making the goofy one from before.</p>
<p>“Did... did you just call me Kitkat?” You ask, remembering him telling you before that was the name of some human candy bar.</p>
<p>“What? Do you not like it? I thought it was cute.” He defends his choice of words while pulling you into a hug. </p>
<p>“Fine, it’s... cute” you say with a chuckle as he pulls your blanket over the both of you. You didn’t even notice it now but you’re cuddling... you like it.</p>
<p>You both stay like that for a few minutes. Or it could have been longer, you weren’t exactly paying attention to the time. You just wanted to cuddle. You would never admit it out loud (except maybe to Dave) that you secretly loved this type of shit. You already tried to keep your love for romcoms, shitty or not, a secret but that didn’t exactly work out.</p>
<p>“No offense but is there anything else on to watch other than your romcoms?” Dave says as you look over and notice he got his hands on your remote. Damn it Strider. Well, you weren’t even watching the movie anyways.</p>
<p>“Eh, I’ve barely even been watching this. You can change it if you really want to.” You say as he’s already looking for other stuff to watch.</p>
<p>“Hey there’s this show about some alien kid who goes to earth to try and take over it while this other kid tries to stop him.“ Dave starts to go off about it. He probably heard of it from Dirk or Jade or someone, they like weird cartoon shit. With their My Little Pony and their Squiddles. What a bunch of nerds. “I think the alien was defective or something and his race tried to get rid of him, so they ended up sending him away.”</p>
<p>“Hold up hold up,” you start as you look up at him, “didn’t I just get over a breakdown about this sort of thing?”</p>
<p>“Yeah well you aren't defective, and if you get upset again I’m here. I’ll cuddle and comfort and kiss you until you feel better. Maybe even more if you’re up for it” he says pulling his sunglasses up for a second to wink at you.</p>
<p>“STRIDER WHAT THE FUCK!?!” You scream pulling away from him, and then falling right back into him as you both laugh and start cuddling again.</p>
<p>“Well someone seems to be feeling better... So you want to watch it? I heard it’s good.” He asks you and you nod, cuddling deeper into him. He starts up the show and honestly you aren’t even paying much attention, you just want to cuddle with him.</p>
<p>You might fucking hate the colour candy red, but you love your candy red um… matesprit. (That feels like the right word...)</p>
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